


The Ones That Remain

by lizziepotter



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, F/M, naruhina is more of a brotp here so don't expect any kissing, neji only shows up dead, so be prepared, sorry i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 06:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5858662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizziepotter/pseuds/lizziepotter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war was over, but that didn't meant that everything was alright. </p>
<p>Or<br/>The one after Naruto and Sasuke returned to free everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ones That Remain

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic and english isn't my first language, so... please be nice.

The war was over, but that didn't meant that everything was alright. There, back on the battlefield, he and Sasuke managed to free all those people. They knew that, in the world where their friends were right now, they would be dreaming - living, somehow - theirs souls' deepests dreams. Naruto would like to know what his dream would be about. Probably about being Hokage. And ramen. Lots of ramen.

But what he and no one from Team 7 had expected was that not everybody instantly woke up from the dream. Kakashi came up with a theory - that after was proven to be the truth - that the person should leave the dream with their own will. Even though the tree was now weak, everybody was perfectly aware of what was real and what wasn't and also had a limited vision of what was happening in the real world, outside their cocoons, many of them weren't ready to give up on that world.

Surprisingly, the first one from Konoha 11 - now incomplete - to leave that fake world was Shikamaru. He seemed lost for a single moment, looking for someone who wasn't there anymore. The boy had won one more ghost, and even with experience, there wasn't anything that Naruto could do for him at that moment. Or for anyone, to be honest. Few people didn't lose someone important in the last 48 hours, but even them cried too.

After a couple minutes it was Hinata who woke up. She recognised Naruto and Shikamaru's presence near her, but she didn't really seemed conscious. After that, she started to walk away from them. The blond already knew where she was going to, but he didn't follow her.

After that, everyone was waking up, slowly. They greeted Naruto and some even thanked him, but not even Kiba dared to ask what happened with his arm.

Naruto watched everything for what seemed centuries, a bit shocked with the contrast. Few hours ago, when everything was at its worse, people were hopeful. Now the despair had arrived and people were screaming, crying and hugging each other near him. He could see only one or two that didn't demonstrate any feeling on their faces, like himself.  
When he looked at his left, the boy realised that his team mates weren't there anymore. Kakashi-sensei were still close to him, talking with Bushier Brows-Sensei - who was still very fucked up -, and for the first time the second one wasn't trying to lift the mood with his rival.

Sasuke... if Sasuke wasn't in another journey of revenge, Naruto honestly couldn't care less about where he was. If he knew something at this moment was that he couldn't afford to lose another arm.

Naruto started to walk and watch the fighters, abnormally unnoticed. His smile or even the optimistic attitude that he was known for wasn't there.

Minutes later he finally found Sakura-chan. She was sitting on the ground, hugging a woman who seemed familiar to him and was definetly older than her, and the sobs of said woman were so strong that they both Sakura and her were shaking. It took a while for the boy to associate that woman, who was hopelessly crying in the ground, with Tsunade. He thought about her dream, what could possibly trigger such reaction. Three names popped up into his mind: Nawaki, Dan - Naruto had always associate those names with the Fifth Hokage - and Jiraya. In the second his mind remembered ero-sennin he left out him numb state, tears now threatening to fall. He tried to ignore, moving away and doing everything in his power to not crumble.

Most of his comrades had lost more than him. He wasn't allowed to cry.

After walking with no direction for some time, Naruto stopped to think - it wasn't hard for him, after all -, and even that he was feeling exausted, he forced his leg to go on. After he came to himself, the boy realised he was heading to a isolated location. Near him, two people were in the ground, a boy and a girl. Before the war people used to say their eyes were identical - it was a family heritage, after all - but now Naruto had to disagree. While Neji's eyes were serene and lifeless, Hinata's were so tumultuous and bright that it phisically hurt to look directly at them.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto said, his voice low as he sat next to her. His voice was strangely hoarse.

"Naruto-kun," she greeted, politely and calm as always, but the usual shyness wasn't there. Not now.

They were both silent until Hinata spoke up, almost a whisper: "What happened to your arm?" She asked. If it was any other maybe he wouldn't answer, but he knew that the girl next to him genuinely cared about him.

"Sasuke," he muttered.

Her white eyes widened and she turned - just a little - in his direction. "Is he alright?"

"Well, he did lost an arm too," he smiled, weakly, for a single second forgetting where he was, "but he's alive."

Now she was staring the body in front of them. The thorns that pierced her cousin weren't on his body anymore, but next to him. Hinata had covered his chest with her own vest - the green one that pointed out that she was a kunoichi from Konoha. "What about you, Hinata?"

"I'm alive," she said, simply, and he knew exactly what she meant. The girl was struggling not to cry her eyes out. He felt the same, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to make it easier. Not to her, not to himself.

Naruto knew, somehow, that Hinata had more to say. He stared at her. It was like she was trying to organize her own thoughts. He got just a little closer, to encourage her, and waited.

"After Hizashi-san, Neji-niisan's father died, my own father tried to make of his death an exception and bury him with all the others main family members, but his request was denied... and I don't intend to give up like he did." She spoke, slowly.

"If you need help with anything you can call me, okay?" Naruto answered, after deciding that there was nothing left to say.

However, the girl finally looked up and straight into his eyes. "Naruto-kun... Thank you." It was merely a whisper, and she sounded so shocked for that gesture of kindness that the next thing Naruto knew was that he was hugging her tight. Her head was on his shoulder and he buried his face in her hair.

His one arm was wraping her, because he felt that he wouldn't be able to sit still on his own, so he had to hold on to something - someone - who understood.

He remembered Tsunade on the ground, looking so fragile, and allowed himself to cry. For all the people that died on this stupid war. For all that lived. For his ghosts. For the people that have lost themselves in this life and for all that still would. And the shed tears on his shoulder told him that, at least, he wasn't alone. Not anymore.

And he wondered if this was a good thing.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry.


End file.
